


In Times of Trouble

by flowerfan



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Comfort, Death of minor character, M/M, Sadness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-06-08 15:29:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6860800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowerfan/pseuds/flowerfan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bitty's not answering his phone, or his texts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Times of Trouble

Jack wakes up from a post-practice nap and spends the next few hours reading a book his dad sent him. He doesn’t realize until dinnertime that he and Eric haven’t spoken yet today; not even by text. A quick check of his phone confirms it, and he bites his lip, trying not to worry. He shoots Bitty a text, waits a few minutes, and then calls him. There’s no answer.

He gets up and stretches, paces around his kitchen trying to decide whether he should take his teammates up on an offer to get dinner together, and then calls Bitty again. Still no answer. It’s bizarre, and unsettling. And he’s not going to be able to talk to anyone else until he figures out what’s going on. At least, not any of the Falconers.

Jack calls Lardo. “Is Bitty okay?”

She doesn’t make any attempt at small talk, and Jack isn’t surprised. There’s a reason Lardo is in charge of the team; she understands them better than they understand themselves, most of the time.

“He hasn’t told you?”

Jack’s heart begins to pound. Samwell didn’t have a game today – did something happen at practice? “Is he okay? Is he hurt?”

“No, nothing like that. His grandmother died.”

Fuck. Bitty loves his grandmother – like actively hangs out with her in his free time, dotes on her, writes actual snail mail letters to her loves her. “Can you put him on the phone?”

“He’s asleep, I think. He told me not to let anyone bother him.”

Did he mean Jack, too? “Lardo, are you sure he’s okay?”

“Jack, I’m not an idiot. I checked on him just a little while ago. He’s all curled up in bed, either asleep or faking it. He’s just really sad.”

Sad.

Jack knows full well how that feels. Maybe not for the same reason, but he’s all too familiar with the sensation. How it can overpower everything decent and hopeful in the world. His heart aches to think of Bitty alone in his room, sad.

Jack pulls on his jacket, and goes out to his car. 

On the road, he calls Lardo back. It doesn’t take long to make a plan. Next he calls George. Then he tries his best to focus on driving.

Jack is off the highway and less than ten minutes away from Samwell when his breathing starts to speed up and his fingers tingle. He knows what’s happening, pulls over to the side of the road and rests his head on the steering wheel, tries to calm himself down. It’s not working very well.

Jack finds his phone and presses his mother’s number. When she answers, he spills out what’s going on, that Eric’s grandmother passed and he’s on his way to see him. 

“But what if he doesn’t want me there?” Jack asks, hating the way his voice so clearly reveals how anxious he is. “What if I just make it worse? I don’t know what to do.”

“It’s hard when someone you love is in pain,” his mom says softly. “And there’s not always any way to fix it. Just be there for him.”

“I wish this wasn’t happening to him,” Jack says, taking in a deep breath. “He’s so good. It’s not fair.”

“Life isn’t always fair, as well you know,” his mom replies. “You have a good heart, Jack. Trust it. Go give your boy a hug.”

Jack is breathing easier; he thinks actually telling his mom what he was thinking helped. It’s not the first time. And he can do what she suggested - he can give Bitty the best hug that ever was; he wants nothing more than to hold him in his arms. He can do this. “Okay.”

*****  
Jack texts Lardo when he gets to the Haus; she meets him at the door, and he goes upstairs without pausing to say hello to whoever is piled on the couch watching television. He hears Lardo filling them in. The guys don’t seem to think it’s odd that Jack drove here from Providence to console Bitty. He thinks it’s Ransom that says “Cool, man, Jack always makes Bitty feel better,” and Chowder noting that Jack is the best captain ever, which probably doesn’t win him any points with Ransom.

He hears this conversation because he’s frozen outside Bitty’s door, trying to convince himself to go inside. He takes a few deep breaths, and then knocks. 

There’s no answer. Lardo had said that she thought Bitty would be sleeping, so he opens the door and steps inside as quietly as he can, closing the door behind him. The room is dim, lit only by the moonlight coming in around the edges of the curtains, and he gives his eyes a moment to adjust.

There’s a lump on the bed that is obviously Bitty, wrapped up in blankets and curled on his side. Jack approaches him and sees that his earbuds are in. He pauses, considering. “Bitty?” he says softly. Still no response.

But when Jack gingerly lowers himself to the bed, Bitty sits up and his eyes fly open.

“Jack?” His voice is hoarse.

Jack wraps his arms around him and holds him tight. “I’m so sorry, Bits. I’m so sorry.”

Bitty clings to him and buries his face in his neck. “I can’t believe she’s gone,” he stutters out, “I just can’t believe it.”

“I know.”

“I love her. I don’t want her to be…” Bitty sobs, and his shoulders start to shake.

“It’s okay, Bits. It’s okay.”

Bitty is crying in earnest now, his whole body caught up in it. Jack just holds on, threads his fingers through his hair, rubs a hand on his back. After a while Jack slides down on the bed, lying back and pulling Bitty against his chest. He shuffles them around a little and gets the blanket over both of them. This seems to work better, and slowly Bitty calms, his sobs turning into sniffles. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t return your calls,” Bitty finally says, not looking up. “I didn’t want to have to tell you. I just… I couldn’t talk about it.”

“It’s all right. I understand.”

“You do?”

“Of course.” Jack leans and presses a kiss to Bitty’s head. “I was just worried about you.”

Apparently this wasn’t the right thing to say, because Bitty starts crying again.

“No, no, it’s okay, really, I’m not mad or anything.” Shit, he’s an idiot. He’s just making it worse.

“I didn’t mean to worry you.” Bitty hugs him tighter, still crying. “I love you,” he chokes out, and Jack relaxes. 

“I love you too, Bits.”

Eventually Bitty quiets, sucks in some long, shaking breaths, and sits up.

“Lord, that was dramatic, wasn’t it?” 

Jack puts his hands on Bitty’s cheeks and wipes his tears with his thumb. “Stop apologizing. You’re allowed to be sad.”

Bitty puts his hands on Jack’s wrists, turns his head and kisses his hand. His face is damp all over. 

“I just wish I could be there,” Bitty says softly. “I’ll never see her again.”

“Um…” He didn’t think this part would be awkward, but suddenly it is.

“Jack?” Bitty is looking at him curiously now, his eyes wide in the dim light.

“George got you a plane ticket. You leave tomorrow at 1:30, from Providence. I’ll drive you to the airport in the morning.”

“Wait, what? There aren’t any tickets, I checked-”

“There are.”

“Jack, what did you do?”

Jack sighs. “Just let me, okay? It’s done anyway.” First class is rarely sold out.

Bitty looks at him sternly, and Jack thinks he’s going to keep arguing. But then he blinks a few times, and his lip wobbles. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Lord, it’ll feel good to get a hug from my mama.” Bitty starts, and looks at Jack with wide eyes. “Not that I need her to… I mean… I don’t need…”

Jack grins at him. “I called my mom on the way here, just before I got to campus.”

“You did?”

Jack nods. “I was a little nervous.” That’s an understatement Bitty wouldn’t ordinarily let him get away with, but now isn’t the time for Jack’s issues. “I needed some advice.”

“About what?”

Jack shrugs and waves vaguely at Bitty. “This. I wasn’t sure what to do.”

Bitty smiles fondly at him. “You called her after you drove an hour and a half, and then asked for advice?”

“I didn’t say it made any sense.”

“What did she tell you?”

Jack wraps his arms around Bitty and holds him close. “She told me to give you a hug.”

Bitty squeezes him back, then pulls back and pets at Jack’s chest, grimacing at his wet shirt. “You’re all gross. I’m sorry, that’s my fault.”

“Easily remedied.” Jack shrugs out of his flannel and pulls off his t-shirt. It’s nice and warm in Bitty’s room anyway.

“Are you staying tonight?” Bitty asks, his voice suddenly small. “Don’t you have practice?”

“I told George what happened. Family emergency.” He hadn’t even hesitated. 

“Jack…” Bitty’s eyes are welling up with tears again, and Jack sees him swallow hard. 

Jack needs Bitty to understand how much he matters to him. That he’d do anything, really, if it would make Bitty’s sadness disappear, or even just take the edge off. “The Falconers can live without me until tomorrow afternoon. It’s bad enough I can’t go home with you, Bits.”

Bitty wrinkles his nose. “It’s probably not the best way to introduce you to my family as my boyfriend, even if you could get the time off. Coming out at a funeral seems kind of tacky.”

Jack nods, lying down and pulling Bitty against him. Bitty nestles in, making himself comfortable curled against Jack’s side.

“Although, when you think about it, it might distract everyone from their grief,” Bitty says, pretending to consider it. “You can just hear the whispers - does that mean Dicky’s a _homosexual?_ It would definitely liven things up.”

“Maybe next time,” Jack says, threading his fingers into Bitty’s hair.

“What? Jack, don’t say that-”

“Not the next funeral, Bitty, the next time you go home. If you want.” Jack’s thought about this, about how much it scares Eric to think about coming out to his family, and to his dad in particular. He doesn’t know if it would help him to have him there or not, but he’s willing. 

“You mean you’d come with me, when I tell them?”

“Only if you want. And I’m not trying to rush you or anything, it doesn’t make any difference to me when you tell them. But I know it makes a difference to you.”

Bitty sniffles against Jack’s chest. “It’s weird not being able to tell my mom why I’m so happy.” He chokes out a laugh and sits up, reaching for a tissue. “Even right now, when I’m bawling my eyes out, I’m happy underneath it all. And it’s all your fault.”

Jack laces his hands behind his head and smiles up at his boyfriend, red eyes and drippy nose and all. “I’m not inclined to apologize.”

“Nor should you.” Bitty sighs, long and low. “Do you have any idea what time it is? Would it be crazy if I said I wanted to go to sleep? I’m exhausted.”

Jack finds his phone and checks the time. “Past eleven. Definitely time to sleep.”

They take turns in the bathroom, and then curl back up together in Bitty’s bed. Jack hadn’t thought to bring pajamas, but Bitty doesn’t seem to care that he’s wearing just a t-shirt and briefs, just smiles weakly at Jack and digs his face into his neck. After a while Eric turns away, his back to Jack’s chest, and pulls his arm over his narrow waist. Jack can tell Bitty cries a little more, but he just holds him tight and nuzzles into his hair. _You’re safe with me,_ Jack thinks to himself, and hopes Bitty knows it. He thinks he does.

*****  
Jack wakes to Bitty sucking a hickey into his neck, hands roaming over his chest, hip pressing hard against his side. It’s still dark out, but when Jack’s eyes flutter open he can see Bitty lean back to look determinedly at him.

The fact that he’s at Samwell and the reason for his impromptu trip hits Jack just as Bitty’s hand slides down his body and his fingertips edge under the waistband of his briefs. It sends a shudder through him that is entirely unrelated to Bitty’s hot breath on his skin.

“Bitty, um, hang on.” He stills Bitty’s hand, and Bitty looks back up at him, eyes wide.

“Bitty, you don’t, um, are you sure you want…?” Jack’s still half-asleep, but he can see the flicker of uncertainty on Bitty’s face when he registers Jack’s question.

Bitty bites his lip, and withdraws his hand. “You don’t want me to…?”

“It’s not that.” Jack grabs his hand and kisses his palm, then tucks it against his chest. He’s not sure how to say what he’s thinking. But apparently Bitty knows anyway.

The slightly hurt look on Bitty’s face fades away, and he sighs. “Maybe the timing is weird?” Bitty volunteers, apparently also having a hard time articulating his thoughts. “But I just really want to be close to you right now. If that’s okay.”

“Eric, of course it’s okay,” Jack breathes out. He cups Bitty’s face, runs a thumb over his cheekbone. “How about we just take it a little slower?”

“Okay, yeah.” Jack turns on his side as Bitty does the same. They trade gentle kisses, eyes opening every so often as if to check in, Jack’s hand on the back of Bitty’s neck and Bitty’s in his hair. Jack can feel Bitty relaxing, his tightly wound desire from a few minutes ago morphing into something less desperate.

After a while Bitty stops, rolls on to his back and pulls Jack with him. Jack tucks his head on Bitty’s shoulder, leans his upper body against his boyfriend’s chest and wraps an arm around him. Bitty slides his hand up under Jack’s t-shirt and rubs his back. Bitty had smiled so fondly at Jack the first time they cuddled up like this, Jack so much bigger than Bitty that it seemed an unlikely fit. But it comforts Jack, to be held by Bitty, and it comforts Bitty to know that he wants to be held. Another win-win, another discovery of just how sweet their time together can be.

“Thank you for coming here tonight,” Bitty says softly. He still sounds surprised, Jack thinks, when to him it seems the most predictable thing he’s ever done.

“Bits… of course.”

“Not of course.” Bitty shakes his head and his chin bumps Jack’s head. “You’ve got a life, a job. You can’t drop it all for me.”

“Who else would I drop it for?” Jack leans up on an elbow, pushes Bitty’s hair away from his face and finds his eyes. “Seriously, Bitty, I want to always be there for you. I love you.”

Bitty tears up, and Jack knows it’s just emotional overload. He leans down and kisses Bitty’s cheek where a tear has run down. Bitty giggles, and Jack hugs him close. 

“You are too much, Jack Zimmerman,” Bitty says, but he’s smiling and using Jack’s t-shirt as a tissue, so Jack figures they’re okay.

They never really fall back to sleep, lying curled up together and dozing until the sun comes up. Jack presses a kiss to Bitty’s forehead, then pulls on his clothes and goes downstairs to make coffee while Bitty gets in the shower.

Lardo appears in the kitchen (Jack suspects she was listening for him – the timing is just too coincidental, as he knows for a fact that she doesn’t have any early classes on a Saturday) and props her elbows on the table, waiting for Jack to pour her a cup of coffee. He does, and they sit together in silence for a few minutes.

She looks like she’s just about to say something when Chowder joins them. He’s just come back from a run, and Jack praises him for sticking to his workout schedule on the weekend. He’s got that awestruck look that so many people get when confronted with Jack; Jack figures that attitude will buy him and Bitty a little space, at least until they are ready to share their secret with the team. 

He assumes Lardo knows. At least, if she had any doubt before, it has to be gone now. But she doesn’t question him, just ribs Chowder about getting cleaned up before he scares away their celebrity guest, and then pours another cup of coffee. She adds cream and sugar to this one, and hands it to Jack. “Why don’t you bring this up to Eric? He probably needs it.”

“Thanks.”

“You told him he’s clear with the team, right? We’ll see him at practice on Tuesday.” Lardo gives Jack an appraising look. “You’ll bring him back here in time?”

“I will.”

Back upstairs, Bitty is sitting on his bed. His hair is damp and uncombed, and he’s got a towel wrapped around his waist. In ordinary circumstances Jack might tackle him and tease the towel off of him, but these aren’t ordinary circumstances.

Jack sets the coffee down on Bitty’s desk and crouches at Bitty’s feet, his hands on his knees. “What’s up?”

Bitty blinks, and focuses on Jack. He shrugs, and then blinks some more.

Jack is reminded of days when just picking out clothes to wear seemed an insurmountable hurdle. Being asked questions about it never helped, either. He finds a pair of khaki pants and a blue button down in the closet, pulls some clean underwear out of a drawer, and sets it on the bed next to Eric. “Why don’t you put these on, and then drink your coffee. I’ll see if I can find your suitcase in the attic.”

Bitty nods his assent, and he’s dressed when Jack returns. Together they pick out clothes for the next few days, and Bitty carefully folds each piece of clothing and sets it in his carry-on. “I’ve got a suit at home,” he finally says, eyes flickering up to Jack’s. “And shoes.”

For the funeral, Jack thinks, and puts a hand on Bitty’s shoulder and gives it a squeeze.

Jack sees Bitty pause as he looks at the Zimmerman jersey he wears to sleep, and Jack scoops it up and sticks it in the suitcase. Take a little bit of me with you, he wants to say, but his voice isn’t really cooperating.

Soon enough it’s time to go. Lardo stops them in the hallway and gives Eric a hug, whispering something in his ear that makes him cough out a laugh and then nod solemnly. 

Bitty leans against the window in the car and closes his eyes. They don’t talk much, Jack turning on the radio to a news show, barely loud enough to be more than background noise. Even so, the ride goes too quickly for Jack’s taste, but he knows what Bitty needs right now is to be with his family, with the people who knew and loved his grandmother the way that he did.

Bitty insists on tugging his own suitcase through the airport, and Jack doesn’t argue with him. Finally they are at security, and it’s time to say goodbye. Bitty has been keeping a careful distance between them ever since they got out of the car, and it is a stark contrast to their reassuring togetherness of the night before.

“Have a good trip,” Jack says lamely, and Bitty nods.

“Thanks again.” Bitty says softly. He gives Jack a half smile, and then turns to go. But Jack can’t take it any more.

“Wait.” He grabs Bitty into a tight hug, holding him until he feels him breathe and relax. “I love you, Bits. Be safe, yeah?”

Bitty sniffles against his neck. “Love you too.”

“Text me when you land.” Jack releases him with a squeeze to his free hand.

“I will.” Bitty still looks sad, but it’s leavened now with what Jack believes is love, and that happiness that Bitty mentioned the night before. It’s taken root in them both, always there under the surface. Jack knows they’ll always have some hard days. No life is free of challenges. But knowing he can help Bitty through times of trouble, that he can give him a little light, a little hope - and that Bitty does the same for him – is a wonderful thing.


End file.
